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Covering Milford, Syracuse & North Webster, Indiana
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
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A BACKYARD VIEW OF THE ECLIPSE — Larry Baumgardt, Syracuse, shared a view of the eclipse Monday, April 8, from his backyard. He notes doing the photography was one of the most challenging tasks of his decades working with a camera. He purchased a dense, protective 18 times solar filer so the sun wouldn’t damage the sensor on his camera. This caused the viewfinder to be totally black with the exception of the sun. He used his longest telephoto lens with a teleconverter. He quickly learned through tutorials and personal experience none of his usual camera features would function and he would need to shoot in manual
mode. A practice was done April 7 to determine exposure and how best to focus, then set up his tripod on the seawall on April 8. Due to the strong lakeside winds that day, he moved the tripod to his backyard. “The toughest thing, I learned, was to actually locate the sun with the long telephoto lens working in a totally black viewfinder. In addition, the motion of the sun required me to re-acquire it every 5 minutes during the two hour photo shoot.” Baumgardt recorded over 100 images during the two hours and selected just a few that represented the overall event. Using Photoshop he created the image shown above. Photo provided by Larry Baumgardt.
Wawasee School board sees PAC project concepts, new meeting location Text and Photos By MARISSA SWEATLAND Staff Writer
ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS — Milford Town Council President Doug Ruch and Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall sign off on appropriating additional funds for a new fire engine at a public hearing Monday, April 15. A public hearing is required whenever the town decides to use more of its money than was included in the yearly budget. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.
Milford Town Council holds public hearing for fire truck funds By LILLI DWYER Staff Writer Milford Town Council authorized additional appropriations for a new fire engine at a public
hearing Monday, April 15. A public hearing is required when the town wishes to use more of its money than was initially planned for in the yearly budget. The new engine will be purchased through Sourcewell’s Cooperative Purchasing program, using $485,200 from Milford’s cumulative capital improvement tax levy and $50,000 from the cumulative capital development fund. The council approved the additional appropriations ordinance, with Council President Doug Ruch abstaining from the vote due to his involvement with the fire department. Before adjourning, the council also approved contributing $750 toward maintenance and equipment expenses at Waubee Lake Park. This is part of an interlocal contract with Kosciusko County and Van Buren Township.
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During its monthly regular school board meeting, Tuesday, April 16, the Wawasee School board saw a project update from Garmann Miller’s Brian Wolf and Hannah Holtzapple. The performing arts center project is coming along as the project’s team is narrowing scope to create plans that will fit within the corporation’s budget. Wolf and Holtzapple brought in conceptual renderings of the exterior and interior lobby. The exterior design rendering showed brick siding, multiple windows to allow lots of sunlight and a designated entrance that will lead guests straight to the theater. “Once we get a little farther into the project, we will format the renderings to add the landscaping, parking lots and people to make the concept come alive,”
Wolf explained referring to the stark white spaces in the renderings. “We are looking to do something really cool with these lobby walls.” Holtzapple showed the board a range of proposed exterior materials which included bricks varying in color and different tiles. The performing arts center is one of two projects the school corporation is involved in. The other project is building a new Milford Elementary School. These projects rose to the top out of four presented options. The project options were determined by a community engagement committee about a year ago. The Wawasee School board has switched locations for its regular school board meetings. The corporation received occupancy on the Wawasee Professional Learning Center on Thursday, April 11. The regular monthly Wawasee School board meetings will be held at this location, as opposed to the
Syracuse Town Council —
Developer’s introduction gets testy during meeting By LAUREN ZEUGNER Staff Writer Syracuse Council President Nathan Scherer adjusted the council’s agenda Tuesday night, April 16, after approval of last month’s minutes and claims, to introduce The Ridge Group, developers of Muncie. Scherer excused himself and left the council hall as Tyler Bow-
Warrior Room at Wawasee High School. Although the location has changed, the date and time still remain. The Wawasee Professional Learning Center is the building south of the Central Office, 801 S. Sycamore St., Syracuse. “I just want to thank everyone involved for our new facility,” Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent, said. “I want to thank the board for its support for this very well put together facility. Being in here for the first time is something we have been looking forward to for
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ers, vice president of TRG Development, introduced himself. TRG is working on South Shore Ventures and Scherer is a partner in the project. TRG replied to a request for proposal regarding the South Shore Ventures project. The development firm, based in Muncie, is working on the multi-family units portion of the project. Continued on page 2
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months. I know Dr. Wilfong has been on my case for months about this facility!” During the meeting’s Good News, the board congratulated 15 Wawasee Warriors who graduated Wawasee Virtual Academy. Among those graduates are Caden Edgar, Anna Graff, Mikilah Wiggs, Cora Orth, Allison Gibson, Ashton Stidams, Mary Conway, Haven Rolston, Trinity Wise, Kamren Voss, Jessica Griffith, Abbigail Burelison, Keisha SoContinued on page 2
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